A Reading Captain (a takeoff on Block Captain) is a member of the community who connects families to resources and information that will help children become great readers.

You're invited to attend an orientation session to learn about Read by 4th, what your role as a Reading Captain requires, and receive hard-copy resources and swag to help you in your new role. Register here.

Attend the 2nd Annual Family Reading Extravaganza

May 17

5 - 8 pm

Lincoln High School3201 Ryan AvenuePhiladelphia

Join Scholastic, CLI, School District of Philadelphia, Read By 4th, and StoryUP! for the 2nd Annual Family Reading Extravaganza. Pam Allyn, nationally and internationally acclaimed literacy expert and author of 26 books will offer ideas to parents on how to strengthen engagement and deepen reading experiences with their children at home.

Neighbors in Action Workshops May 16

2 - 3 pm

1207 Chestnut Street, 6th Fl.

Philadelphia

Join Global Citizen for a workshop focused on community building, leadership, and civic engagement. This workshop will help participants identify how to organize service projects and other initiatives in their communities to address needs and increase impact.

Volunteer to support Love your Park Week 2018! More than 2,500 volunteers are needed to help keep Philadelphia parks looking great. For the full list of events and to register as a volunteer please click here.

Volunteer at Disability Pride!

June 16

National Constitution Center

525 Arch St.Philadelphia

Volunteer for the Philadelphia Disability Pride Parade. The Parade is designed to celebrate people living with disabilities, change the way people think about and define disability, end the stigma of disability and promote the belief that disability is a natural and beautiful part of human diversity in which people living with disabilities can take pride. Volunteers will help set up and take-down the event. To sign up or if you have any questions, please contact Mela Still at

If you represent an organization in need of volunteers or service support opportunities, please let us know. We'll work with you to develop an outreach plan, workshops on community engagement, volunteer recruitment mailings or direct support for a service event. From there, we'll feature your organization in our newsletter to help spread the word. Please contact us here.

May 2018 Newsletter

Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities

Dear --FNAME--,

The recent arrest of two young black men captured on video at a Rittenhouse Square-area Starbucks underscores the way black and brown people are often profiled. To people of color, this may hardly be a revelation. To many white people, however, it is a surprising reality - a grim reminder of the daily impact of institutional racism and white privilege.

As the incident led to conversations almost everywhere and demonstrations at the cafe, I spoke with someone I see regularly at Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books, a popular black-owned business in Germantown that brings together a diverse clientele. He told me he had been stopped on the street by police six times in two months. Despite knowing that people of color are profiled on many levels everyday, I was flabbergasted and felt moved to post the following on Facebook:

"I have NEVER been stopped & frisked by police. NEVER. I was talking today with someone I see regularly @ Uncle Bobbie’s, who told me he had been randomly stopped on the street 6 TIMES IN THE PAST 2 MONTHS! I was/am stunned & sickened. Naive me. PLEASE share with me/us, if willing, how many times YOU have been stopped/frisked by police? I have a feeling my sickness is about to escalate."

The many responses to my post only reinforced what I already knew: that people of color are routinely profiled and often vilified. If you are similarly moved, you can learn more from the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund about one longtime concern --the history of unjust policing practices in this country and their Police Reform Campaign here.

I started Global Citizen in 1995 not simply to promote civic engagement, but to bring together people of all backgrounds, build understanding, foster relationships, and promote sustainable citizen action. That effort continues this month with many ways to be engaged, including exercising the highest form of active citizenship- voting in the May 15 primary election.

Todd Bernstein, President, Global Citizen Founder and Director,Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service

Pennsylvania Primary Election Day!

May 15

7 am - 8 pm

Various Locations

The Pennsylvania Primary is an important opportunity to participate in the democratic process. For more information on polling locations etc., visit seventy.org.

Volunteer at the 6th Annual Veterans Resource Fair

May 9

8 am - 4 pm

Municipal Services Building1401 JFK Blvd.Philadelphia

Volunteer to support the 6th Annual VetFest, which will include over 50 Veterans' resource tables, live entertainment, food, and more. Volunteers will support the event by setting up and cleaning up, as well as any other miscellaneous tasks.

Please join the American Lung Association, in partnership with Global Citizen, for the Lung Force Walk. The walk will raise awareness and funds to defeat lung cancer while we raise our voices for lung health!

You can register for the Lung Force Walk as a participant (or as a team) here.

Volunteers are needed to set up tents and tables, help with registration, concessions table, working in tents (social media, programs, resources, etc), serve as route marshals, man water stop stations, assist with t-shirt distribution and support event clean up. If you'd like to volunteer at the event, please sign up here. If you have any questions please contact Mela Still at 215-851-1806 or mela@globalcitizen365.org.

North Philadelphia

Students in Need of Uniforms

May 7 - May 18

8:30 am - 3 pm

Sheppard Elementary School

120 W. Cambria St.

Philadelphia

Sheppard Elementary School is looking for donations of navy blue polo shirts and khaki pants for their students. Students are in need of uniforms to wear to school. Sizes 4-24 in khaki pants/shorts, sizes XS-XXL in navy sweatshirts/polo shirts, underwear and socks for girls and boys are needed.

Those willing and able can bring donations to Sheppard Elementary School between Monday, May 7th to Friday, May 18th, during the school day (Monday-Friday 8:30 am to 3 pm). If you have any questions or would like to make a donation but cannot bring them during the above dates/time, please contact Mela Still at 215-851-1806 or mela@globalcitizen365.org.

Support Philly's Reading Olympics

May 1

Temple University

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May 7

Community College of Philadelphia - Main Campus

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May 8

Community College of Philadelphia - Northeast Campus

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May 14

School District of Philadelphia

440 N. Broad Street

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May 17

LaSalle University

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May 22

Philadelphia University

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May 23

Saint Joseph's University

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8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Help Philadelphia READS run the 15th Annual Reading Olympics by signing up as a volunteer. The goals for the Reading Olympics are: to foster a love of reading, to teach cooperation and team work & to bring students together from across the city.

As a volunteer, you will be asked to be a moderator (asking the questions), a scorekeeper (keeping score), or support staff. Don’t worry, all the questions and answers are provided for you. There will be training at the site on the morning of the event. You’ll have fun as you help to make this rewarding activity a success. Sign up here.